Ford Fiesta Mountune
Mountune tweaks make the Ford Fiesta Zetec S a hotter hatch than before
The new Ford Fiesta is a bit of a cracker, and our favourite small car right now. Until now, though, 118bhp is as hot as things have got, with no replacement for the Fiesta ST hot hatch on the horizon to crank things up a bit.
Mountune may have the answer, though. The in-house Ford tuner has already turned its hand to the old Fiesta ST and current Focus ST, with some pretty successful results. Its cocktail of cheap power upgrades and official dealer warranties is now being applied to the new Fiesta Zetec S and Titanium.
The 1.6-litre Duratec petrol engine sees outputs rise from 118bhp and 112lb ft to 138bhp and 125lb ft thanks to a high-flow air induction system, tweaked exhaust with a tubular manifold and an engine re-calibration. The extra poke may sound subtle but it cuts the 0-60mph sprint by a full two seconds, with the new figure of 7.9sec bettering a Renaultsport Twingo by nearly a second and putting the Mountuned Fiesta on a par with the old ST and, incidentally, a 1.9-litre Peugeot 205 GTI…
The modifications were developed over a range of British roads and around the Nurburgring, and will set you back £1299 plus fitting. That means the price of a brand new Fiesta Zetec S will be pushed a smidge north of £14K, but you could always get a nearly new Fiesta to give to Mountune and save yourself a bit more cash. The kit is fully approved by Ford and doesn’t affect the car’s warranty, and even comes with its own additional 12 month/12,000 mile guarantee.
The evo Fast Fleet has just gained a Ford Focus ST which will be getting the Mountune tweaks taking it up to 256bhp. Check out the latest report on it in the next issue, on sale April 1.
